The missile attack on an Iraqi base housing U.S. troops on Wednesday morning was a response to the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by the United States on Friday, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, according to AFP.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said dozens of missiles had struck the Ain al-Asad and Irbil air bases, and warned America against retaliation, which it said would be met with an even “more crushing response,” according to the report. The IRGC also threatened to strike Israel’s and America’s “allied governments.”
“We advise the American people to recall U.S. troops [deployed in the] region in order to avoid further losses and not to allow the lives of its soldiers to be further threatened by the ever-growing hatred of the regime,” the IRGC said in a statement, according to the report.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Wednesday: “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of U.N. Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the missile attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq were “a slap on the face” for the United States, but that military attacks alone were not enough.
“Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.
“This region will not accept the presence of America,” he added.
Khamenei also rejected any talks over the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.